The inside scoop on food in Los Angeles

Couture + Cupcakes: Fashion's Night Out is happening Thursday at the Beverly Center. Magnolia Bakery will set up shop -- an icing bar -- at Bloomingdale's where guests can choose from their rainbow of iced offerings. For every cupcake sold at Fashion's Night Out, Magnolia will donate 50 cents to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. 8522 Beverly Blvd., L.A., beverlycenter.com.

Cultivate L.A.: On Sept. 17, Angeleno chefs come together for United Friends of the Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of foster children. Food from local chefs Suzanne Goin of Tavern, AOC and Lucques, Michael McCarty of Michael's, Roy Choi of A-Frame and Brendan Collins of Waterloo & City, among others, will be served in the garden of a historic Bel-Air home (address announced upon ticket purchase) in addition to wine pourings by Chateau Montelena Winery and Robert Mondavi. Tickets from $175. Unitedfriends.org.

A slice of pie: LACMA is hosting the third annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest on Sunday, Sept. 18. Celebrate pie all day at the museum's central L.A. grounds with a pie contest (contestants include home cooks and professionals), an "inedible" pie-making workshop, an apron fashion show and tours of the museum's galleries. Enter the contest for $10 or just eat a slice or two provided by Patina. The event is free with general admission. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (323) 857-6000, lacma.org.